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RDS 2024 Debrief

RDS 2024 Debrief

I was once told in no uncertain terms that “Feedback is a gift, So sit down shut up and listen in” These words of wisdom were spoken to me 25 years ago and the sentiment of them still live strong. Feedback and Debriefs are such an important factor in any walk of life and learning to accept the bad and the good is a great skill. And the RDS 2024 Debrief is no different.

Ras Dewi Sant

Now I wont bore you with the full RDS 2024 Debrief. But for those who are interested in how things work, what your money goes on and how we look at making things safer and better. Here is a brief summary of our debrief.

2024 – Event Numbers

The RDS numbers were up on previous years.

Considering the current cost of living crises and the fact that there is a jam packed race calander, we were pleased with this. However if you look at it more carefully The 10K and half were up, but the Full Marathon was down. This has been the same trend for the past two years. Maybe this is due to a packed marathon schedule? or a shift in peoples mindset and time available to train?

What do we do with these figures. The question is do we push the event and try to significantly increase the numbers? If we take this route, we will have to look at the logistics behind the event, Namely.

We would like to think that an additional 20% overall could be achieved without much need for additional logistical support.

The Weather

There is not much we can do about the weather we are dealt. All we can do is try and manage it.

In 2023 we had great feedback about the event and alot of this was centred around how good the weather was and how stunning the course was. We said at the time that we were lucky that the weather made it such a great day and imagine how miserable it would of been if it had rained all day.

Then 2024 we also had great feedback about the event and how the weather made it brutal and a real challenge. This type of feedback really does hearten me. It shows a great attitude, sense of adventure and real determination of those taking part.

But lets be honest, At times the weather was horendous and not without danger. It won’t come as any suprise that this has been our biggest form of debate, since the 2nd of March. In the build up we knew what to expect on the day and knew that we had to do to combat this. Which was?

The Incidents

We dealt with 3 people in 2 seperate incidents. Which both involved runners becoming very cold. In reality it had the potential to be much worse. These incidents occurred on the Half. It’s that awkward distance where you think, it’s only a half. But a normal 2 hour 30 min half could easily become 3hrs 30 mins. Where you are moving much slower than normal and the elements are unrelenting in your face. All of this takes it out of you, it drains you and makes it hard to keep your extremities warm and control your core temperature. Which can then become dangerous if not addressed appropirately.

We had no issues with the Marathon runners, because they were expecting a hard day and continged for it. I’m not saying for one minute they didn’t find it cold and hard, just they were prepared.

What was good to see through was the goodwill of other runners. Thet stopped to help or leave kit with anyone who was struggling. We had three runners who basically gave up their race to assist one other and in doing so putting themselves in harms way of getting very cold. We had a runner leave is £20 bivvy bag with a person unkown to him. There were runners getting cold as they slowed down to assist others who were struggling to move forward.

Now the reasons behind these incidents have split opinion. But for me, I believe familiarity with the course, lead to complacency. This opinion come from knowing the expereince and ability of those that needed help.

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What Can Be Done?

I’ve had lots of thoughts and suggestions about this. From, Manadatory Kit, Extra Aid Stations, Staff, Additional Safety Messages, like trackers! And even the conversation of is it financially viable and then financially worth running the event for the cost of risk management.

Yes there are far more harder and riskier events, in far harsher and remote terrains, but people pay very good money for these and as such they are probably more experienced and better prepared.

The easiest answer and the one I have spoken to many about is manadatory kit for the half. We have been down this route previously. We have put on kit check stations, then once checked runners were dumping kit. So how do we police this? do we disqualify people for not carrying it?

My take on it in recent years has been, this is the kit we recommend and this is the manadatory kit and if people decide not to carry it and something happens, well they were told. I’m not sure if this is appropriate or will wash in the current climate. What we want is people to challenge themselves and take the appropriate safety measures. It is our job to fully explain the dangers and ensure runners are not complacent.

With this in mind next year will see a tightening up of kit and rules and regulations around this.

Another thing that will be added to the briefing is asking everyone to learn how to send their location via their phones. This worked well. Initially what3words was used. Because the words are random and some not everyday words, mishearing and spelling which can be made harder with rain and wind. It can be a difficult system to use. Sending live location via wattsap was much better.

Financial Overview

It’s as simple as, the event has to be financially viable. Being viable can mean, We are working on a small profit as it’s its part of a bigger business. Or the event needs to make your wages for the year as it’s your only project. RDS is obvioulsy the former. We are pleased that it’s covered itself and is viable for 2025. However we will have to seriously look at all cost aspects due to the running costs of the business increasing year on year. But our aim is to keep the entry fees reasonable (No change for 2025) but add additional perks. This will involve thinking out of the box. But we have ideas!!

Costs that have got to be considered.

But I do want to say, the local people we use like Tim at Real Time Racing, Matt at Raw Photography, Marc at Olorun, Richard from Whitesands Beach House Cafe, Ann Marie from The Paddock Farm Shop all offer us great service at a price that can’t be beaten.

Summary

Please bare in mind this is very much a snap shot of our debrief. Overall We were very pleased with the event but here are the 3 things that need to be better, and 3 things that worked well.

Things to Improve on

Things that worked Well

Result and Records